Here is a report on the first week box office collection of "Puli".

Ilayathalapathy Vijay's "Puli" has done good business at the worldwide box office even after getting mixed reviews. The film has grossed Rs 71 crore in its opening weekend (eight days).

There were reports claiming that "Puli" is not living up to the expectations at the box office and that its performance at some centres was shockingly poor. Clarifying the rumours, the makers took to Twitter to announce the movie has raked in Rs 71 crore despite getting mixed reviews.

SKT Studio posted, "Happy to announce the 1st Week collection of #Puli worldwide Gross-71 Crores even after the mixed reviews!!" However, the makers have not opened up on its second weekend collection.

At the international centres, "Puli" has witnessed a huge dip in business including in the US in its second weekend. Its business was decent in the UK and Malaysian box office.

"Puli" is made on a budget of Rs 100+ crore and the theatrical rights have been sold for fancy amounts. The movie should do well for a few more weeks so that distributors recover the investment.

The movie was released on 1 October and had a four-day Gandhi Jayanthi weekend. After earning Rs 10.75 crore on the opening day, it earned Rs 31.50 crore at Tamil Nadu box office in the first weekend.

"Puli" is a fantasy-adventure movie written and directed by Chimbu Deven. The project is bankrolled by PT Selvakumar and Shibu Thameens. Vijay, Kannada superstar Sudeep, Shruti Haasan, Hansika Motwani and yesteryear sensational actress Sridevi Kapoor are in the lead roles.

While Vijay's electrifying screen presence remains the biggest attraction of "Puli", the unimpressive screenplay is the major drawback in the flick.